Sarah Michelle Gellar recalls 'extremely toxic male ensemble' early in career

Sarah Michelle Gellar had to unlearn what she thought was the norm in Hollywood.

The 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' alum recalled that she had "ingrained" in her that all sets were "extremely toxic" early in her career. While Gellar didn't name "Buffy" or her controversial showrunner Joss Whedon, Gellar did describe the misogynistic and manipulative behavior she endured on an unnamed long-running project.

"For so long, I was on a set that I think was known to be an extremely toxic male set," Gellar said during a panel for Power of Storytelling: Producers Roundtable. "And so it was ingrained in my head that that's how all the sets were, and the women were pitted against each other - that if the women became friends, then we became too powerful, so you had to keep it low."

Gellar continued, "Now that I've had the opportunity to work with so many other women and men who also support women, I've realized what an easy experience it can be, but... .unfortunately, we are still where all of these departments often have to be women for us to have a voice.”

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"Buffy" aired from 1997 to 2003. Whedon was accused of being abusive on set, with Gellar's "Buffy" star Charisma Carpenter claiming Whedon's "disturbing" behavior left her with "performance anxiety" and estranged him from his co-stars. Carpenter described Whedon as having "often played favorites, pitting people against each other to compete and compete for attention and approval".

Gellar also took to social media in 2021: "While I'm proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon…I stand by the alongside all survivors of abuse and I'm proud of them for speaking out."

"Buffy" costume designer Cynthia Bergstrom addressed the many allegations against Whedon in Evan Ross Katz's "Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How 'Buffy' Staked Our Hearts" story.

"Joss always spoke to me about how the show was about a young girl becoming an empowered woman and how - and that's what really touches me - how he didn't want to see the pretty blonde victim, how he wanted to see her as the hero of the story," Bergstrom said. "And now, in light of everything that's come out, I just think, so why did you victimize everybody? Why did you traumatize? What's wrong with you?"

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